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Exclusive Insight: Why hotels lost ground online

Exclusive Insight: Why hotels lost ground online Dec 17th, 2010 at 8:00AM: Yesterday, you probably saw that hotels are getting hit pretty hard by online travel agencies, as customers have been hunting for deals aggressively. The latest data from PhoCusWright puts branded hotel websites at 54 percent of the online channel, down from 59 percent two years ago. And a few weeks ago, we took a look at the competition between online travel agent and airline brands as we head ...

Hotels get beat up on the web as online travel agencies score deals

Hotels get beat up on the web as online travel agencies score deals Dec 16th, 2010 at 1:30PM: Hotels were doing a great job of selling online before the recession hit. But, thanks to a healthy dose of innovation and greed, the global economy has been in rough shape, forcing those still traveling to hunt for deeper discounts and bigger deals. Unsurprisingly, this led to relatively strong market conditions for the online travel agent sector, particularly in the hotel space. For the hotel ...

Cheap tickets still exist, despite airfare inflation

Cheap tickets still exist, despite airfare inflation Dec 9th, 2010 at 1:00PM: Is it really getting more expensive to fly? Earlier this week, the Department of Transportation revealed that ticket prices were up 13.1 percent year over year for the second quarter of 2010, a stunning increase – though tempered by the fact that fares actually fell 13 percent year over year from the second quarter of 2008 to the second quarter of 2009. If nothing else, this does raise ...

Five perks business travelers MUST have

Five perks business travelers MUST have Dec 8th, 2010 at 8:00AM: If you've ever been a road warrior, you know that the following is true. Spending hours upon hours on a plane several times a week, every week of the year, even the smallest benefits can make a profound difference. It's sad but true that happiness is measured in on-time arrivals and exit rows, but such is the nature of frequent business travel. According to the latest Orbitz for Business / ...

Brand Wars: The Airline Booking Battle Will Be Televised

Brand Wars: The Airline Booking Battle Will Be Televised Dec 6th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Online travel agencies have had a solid run over the past two years. They picked up some market share as would-be travelers were willing to poke around a little more to score cheap tickets. High rates of unemployment and under-employment and general economic uncertainty, of course, were enough to make consumers value every dollar a little more. This opened an opportunity for online travel ...

Europeans love online travel agencies, up 10% this year

Europeans love online travel agencies, up 10% this year Nov 24th, 2010 at 1:00PM: It looks like the internet is no longer a fad ... at least not in Europe. Forecasts from travel market research firm PhoCusWright put 2010 growth in the European online travel industry at 10 percent, a smile-inducing turn from the 1 percent gain posted last year, not to mention 11 percent decline in 2009 for the entire European travel market (which is up only 2 percent this year, it appears). ...

Business travelers want mobile, Expedia picks up Mobiata

Business travelers want mobile, Expedia picks up Mobiata Nov 22nd, 2010 at 3:30PM: I guess Expedia is watching the market. The online travel agency just snapped up mobile travel application developer Mobiata. Mobiata's claim to fame is FlightTrack, and the other apps in its portfolio include TripDeck, HotelPal, FlightBoard and FareCompare. For Expedia, it was a no-brainer, as 4 percent of its traffic is coming from devices, a number the company would like to kick a bit higher, ...

Four signs that people are traveling again, starting with the road warriors

Four signs that people are traveling again, starting with the road warriors Nov 12th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Business travelers are voicing their demands, and why should the airlines and hotels care? Well, this group of travelers is going back on the road, buoyed by all that corporate cash. According to travel industry research firm PhoCusWright, the U.S. travel agency/travel management company sector is set to surge 15 percent by the end of the year, compared to only 8 percent growth for the ...

American Airlines and Orbitz tangle over fees and booking process

American Airlines and Orbitz tangle over fees and booking process Nov 6th, 2010 at 3:00PM: Do you use Orbitz to book flights on American Airlines? Well, your online travel buying habits may have to change. American is getting tough with Orbitz – and other online travel agencies – about how they do business together. For now, you can keep buying tickets on American via Orbitz, but a change could come as early as December 1, 2010. The rhetoric is already high, as you can ...

Taxes could make discounted hotels more expensive

Taxes could make discounted hotels more expensive Oct 22nd, 2010 at 1:00PM: If your next hotel stay is more expensive than you expected, blame the government. State and local governments, still reeling from the recession, are looking for any source of revenue they can grab. And, they're next target seems to be online travel agencies. Online booking sites, such as Expedia and Orbitz, negotiate a rate with hotels for available inventory, market it up a bit and pass it ...

Travelers turn to seller sites for info

Travelers turn to seller sites for info Apr 22nd, 2010 at 9:00AM: Where do you go to get information on destinations and travel? Well, you obviously come here – at least you did this time. And, we appreciate it. Despite the value of independent sources of travel news and deals, it's the seller sites that are attracting all the action. Social media is moving the travel market, according to the latest research from industry research firm PhoCusWright, with ...

Clear your browser's cookies before booking flights online - Airline tip

Clear your browser's cookies before booking flights online - Airline tip Feb 15th, 2010 at 9:37PM: Many airlines and travel web sites (such as Expedia, Kayak, etc.) track how many times you've visited their websites. In so doing, they provide different offers and deals depending on the user. To make sure you're getting the best prices when you book air travel online, be sure to clear your web browser's cookies and cache. This will make it appear as if it's your first time visiting these ...

Five predictions for the European travel market

Five predictions for the European travel market Dec 22nd, 2009 at 8:30AM: The end of the year is the time for all kinds of predictions for the next one. Usually, I treat such conjecture as the bullshit that it is, but when PhoCusWright puts out a list of what'll happen for the travel market, I tend to take it a little much more seriously. The worldwide recession is still squeezing the European travel market, but the online sector is likely to be the star next year, ...

The online travel market moves past pulling the trigger

The online travel market moves past pulling the trigger Dec 12th, 2009 at 2:00PM: If you think you need to sell seats or rooms to be a player in the online travel industry, think again! Travel research firm PhoCusWright found in a new survey that the online travel marketplace has evolved over the past few years to include a wide selection of non-transactional travel sites that serve as "pointers" to those online destinations were eager travelers can melt some plastic. But, ...

Europe tells several different online travel stories

Europe tells several different online travel stories Dec 10th, 2009 at 11:30AM: The EU may have brought us closer to having one Europe, but there certainly isn't one European travel market. The latest report from travel industry research firm PhoCusWright sees the French market staying flat through 2011, with strong growth occurring in Germany. In the United Kingdom, the travel business will continue to tighten. Meanwhile, the mouse-clickers are in Scandinavia, which is ...

Online travel sales stay stable in France

Online travel sales stay stable in France Dec 6th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Despite a dismal global travel market, the online sector in France is still stable. A new report by PhoCusWright says that online leisure and unmanaged business travel activity will gain three percentage points this year, edging up to 33 percent of the total French travel market. Online bookings are projected to stay flat, but the overall travel market is forecasted to shrink by 8.7 percent, ...

UK online bookings to grow this year

UK online bookings to grow this year Nov 7th, 2009 at 12:00PM: tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/11/07/uk-online-bookings-to-grow-this-year/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling'; Yes, you read that correctly – online bookings are expected to finish higher in the United Kingdom this year! Even in this dismal economy – which has been particularly brutal for the travel industry – the web guys have something to celebrate. Sure, the ...

Online travel agencies still making money in today's travel market

Online travel agencies still making money in today's travel market Oct 31st, 2009 at 3:00PM: tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/10/31/online-travel-agencies-still-making-money-in-todays-travel-mark/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling'; There's still money in the travel business; you just have to look in the right places. In the United States, the online leisure and unmanaged business travel sector is where you'll find the cash -- this sector is outperforming every other travel ...

Europeans still booking travel online

Europeans still booking travel online Oct 25th, 2009 at 8:00AM: tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.gadling.com/2009/10/25/europeans-still-booking-travel-online/'; tweetmeme_source = 'Gadling'; This year, the online travel business in Europe is expected to creep higher this year. Travel research firm PhoCusWright forecasts that online bookings will edge up to 0.6 percent this year in its latest report. Yet, this outperforms the hell out of the broader European ...

Online bookings just got cheaper!

Online bookings just got cheaper! Jun 2nd, 2009 at 4:00PM: Online travel deals just got better. Even though airlines are tacking on extra fees, fares have been plunging for a while now, so it still cuts in favor of travelers. Travel websites have started to get in on the savings, too. Several sites are ditching their booking fees - at least temporarily. Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia announced yesterday that they are waiving their booking fees. For ...

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